The invention relates to a rigid bra-shaped support device having retention means to hold a bra within the concave portions of the device and further having fixed or removable hinging means permitting the device to be hung on closet rods.
Women""s brassieres containing padding in the cup regions to provide larger, more well proportioned, and/or smoother shapes to the wearers are commonly available and have gained Increasing popularity. For example, bras referred to as xe2x80x9cpush-upxe2x80x9d models have gained much popularity. A major difficulty with such brassieres is the compressibility and distortability of the padding materials. That is, when such bras are placed in drawers for storage or suitcases for travel, the padding becomes crushed and creased. Thereafter, the creases tend to remain in the bra and when worn under tight or knit clothing show through the clothing. Consequently, the smooth and natural appearance desired from use of the padded bra is defeated.
Hanging devices, such as metal and plastic hangers and hangers containing clips or other fastening means to hold pants and/or skirts, are well known in the prior art. U.S. Design Pat. No. D32,4459 discloses a hanger for hanging both a bra and a panty using two sets of clips. The bra and panty hang independently beneath the hanger. U.S. Pat. Nos. Re36,873 and 3,738,549 similarly may be employed to hang a bra through use of clips. However, none of the aforementioned patents provide any support to the cups of the bras. Consequently, if any of such prior art hangers are used to stole padded bras in a crowded closet, the problem of compression and creasing remains.
Therefore, there remains a need for a device to prevent compression and creasing of the cups of bras during storage, shipment and hanging.
further difficulty with padded bras becomes apparent in the washing and drying process. Generally, when bras are washed, it is suggested that the bra not be dried in an automatic dryer as such drying can decrease the life of the elastic and fabric components of the bra. Consequently, bras are hung to dry, usually hung by a strap over a hook or one of the prior art hangers discussed above. The pads in padded bras tend to absorb significant amounts of water during washing. Although the pads can be lightly squeezed to remove excess water, strong pressure or wringing would distort the shape of the pad and produce undesired wrinkles and creases. If a padded bra is hung to dry on either a hook or prior art hanging hanger, there is no support for the pads, permitting some distortion, e.g., sagging, of the pad during drying.
There is a need, therefore, for a device to assist in maintaining the proper shape of the cups of padded bras during drying.
It is an object of the present invention to meet the needs discussed above. The present invention provides a device for storage, shipment and/or hanging of a bra such that the cups of the bra are protected from compression and creasing. More specifically, the device of the present invention comprises a rigid bra shaped structure having means to hold the cup)s of the bra within the concave portions of the rigid structure. One embodiment of the present invention provides a vented hanging device so that a padded bra may be dried while yet maintaining the shape of the pad. The present device further provides either permanent or detachable hanging means so that the bra may be hung from a closet rod or other hanger supports.